Escaping the Abyss of Love novel Chapter 1

I was abducted on my birthday and put through hell for three straight days. By the time I was finally rescued, my clothes were in tatters, and I was caked in dirt.

Connor Searle rushed to the scene and barked at the reporters, pushing them back. His eyes were heavy with sorrow as he drew me into his embrace and proposed to me right then and there.

I dozed off into a deep sleep in his car on the ride back. Somewhere between being awake and asleep, I caught fragments of his conversation with his bodyguard.

"Mr. Searle, don't you think that was too much? Drugging Mrs. Searle and arranging for those men to assault her? Even if you needed to ruin her reputation for the sake of that other woman, surely there was another way to handle it, wasn't there?"

Connor stroked my back as he answered in a deep, steady voice, "A woman's virtue is her most precious asset. There's no other way to ruin her utterly. But it doesn't matter. I'll give her the marriage she's always wanted and spend the rest of my life making it up to her. That will be enough."

Tears streamed silently down my face as my heart turned cold. The happy marriage I'd dreamed of was nothing more than a gilded cage.

"Mr. Searle, let's take Mrs. Searle to the hospital under Searle Group. Our people there can—"

"Take her to the public hospital."

"Public hospitals are overcrowded. Those reporters have probably already camped out there. Who knows what kind of twisted stories those shady media outlets will cook up about Mrs. Searle!"

"The crowd is exactly what we need. We've come too far to back out now. The final step has to be carried out perfectly. Only then will Evan cut all remaining ties to Hannah. Only then can Sienna step into her rightful role as his wife, Mrs. Lanier. No more talking. I'm exhausted. I need to rest."

I bit my lip hard, stifling any sound that might slip out.

Connor's warmth pressed close against me. It was painfully familiar, yet it sent a chill through me. This car, once filled with our shared laughter, now felt like a prison I couldn't escape.

Finally, it all made sense—why Connor, the golden boy who seemed destined for greatness, had relentlessly pursued me after Evan Lanier's betrayal and our divorce.

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